Masquerade
by HeadGoddessOfSarcasm
Summary: A disguise leaves Zoicite confused


**Popped into my head.**

Masquerade

A tall strawberry blonde stood in the corner of an expansive ballroom, his spring green eyes, encased in a tasteful plain blue silk mask, bored as he surveyed the crowd. It was the same old scene with a new purpose.

His liege and friend, Endymion, had finally gotten engaged, and his fiancée just had her heart so set on a masquerade ball. And Endymion, infatuated as he was with the Moon princess he was to marry, agreed, even going so far as to have Jadeite, Kunzite, Nephrite, and him arrange the whole thing.

They say that you can speak of the devil, and he shall appear. He held testament to this fact as Endymion and Serenity glided down the stairs together, unmistakable even if they had bothered to wear masks. Behind them trailed Serenity's four protectors, the legendary Inner Senshi, all in costume.

'They didn't even bother to hide who they are,' he thought, somewhat annoyed. 'They didn't even change the usual order they come in.'

As the four girls joined the throngs of people already on the dance floor, they were immediately swallowed by the wives and daughters of noblemen from almost all the planets hoping to gain favor for their house.

Zoicite braved his way through the crowd to find a certain blond bombshell as the first waltz was starting up.

Minako had been taunting him earlier that day, saying that she was divining a costume so spectacular that no-one would be able to recognize her until the midnight unmasking.

Looking at her now, Zoicite was convinced she had just been trying to annoy him. He just was about to reach her when she was swept up by some one he didn't recognize through his mask.

It took him over an hour to get near enough to ask her to dance, and then another fifteen minutes actually getting her attention. When he finally had it, he asked the question he'd be wanting to ask all night. 

"May I have this dance, Commander Venus?"

She looked at him flirtaciously. "Of course, Lord Zoicite."

After only a few moments of whirling about the ballroom, he commented on her elaborate blue dress, covered with peacock feathers, including train down the back, a matching mask, and an elaborate up-do.

"Interesting costume, though it doesn't do much to hide who you are. I have to admit, though, that peacocks are very fitting."

"I would thank you for that comment, Lord Zoicite, were peacocks not the bird of vanity."

"Not quite the air-headed blonde you give everyone the impression off, are you?"

"Why, you should know that no one here tonight is how they appear. After all, hiding in plain sight is often the best tactic."

He looked at her, even more surprised then he was a moment ago. It was then that he noticed her eyes were a shade or two too dark, and she was just a little too short to be Minako.

"Who are you?"

"Now, now... If I told you, that'd defeat the whole purpose of the disguise, wouldn't it?"

The song came to an end, and she spun away from him, and with a mischievous goodnight, she disappeared into the crowds again.

The next time he saw her, she was flirting with a man in some garish pink and purple outfit, and generally acting _exactly_ like High Commander Venus, known to Minako by her friends and friends of her friends' fiancés. It was unnerving to think of someone who could pull off that good of an acting job.

There always was the posibility that she had been lying about her disguise, but that was unlikely. Minako wouldn't lie because he had guessed correctly who she was.

But that still left the question of who exactly she was. Zoicite mused his way to the refreshments table, where he bumped into Kunzite silently fuming over "Minako"'s flirting.

"Calm down; it's not her."

"What are you talking about?"

"That-" he gestured to the woman he had thought was Minako "-is not Minako."

"And how, pray tell, would you know?"

"I danced with her. She all but outright said that she wasn't Commander Venus."

"Ah. I see." Kunzite frowned down at his glass of punch. "Who is she, then?"

"No bloody idea."

He frowned some more.

"I see," he said at last.

"Yes, you've mentioned that already."

"Ah."

"You've said that already too."

Zoicite got a glare in return.

"Glad to see you're functioning better. Now if you'll excuse me, there's punch to drink and women to dance with."

He got another glare for his efforts.

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At long last, it was not but ten minutes to midnight, and the music had already stopped for the night.

Serenity took a spot at the foot of the stairs, and with her magically enhanced voice, she called for silence.

"I know you all must be eager for the unmasking, but I have just a few things to say to you first. One of them is that I'm very happy that you all could come here to celebrate my engagement. The other is that at this moment, I'd like every one whose identity has not been correctly guessed yet. For the record, it doesn't count if no one guessed your identity at all."

Surprises of all surprises, the only people at the staircase with Serenity were her senshi. Even she looked puzzled.

"Would you please all unmask now?"

Zoicite's eyes were trained on the faux Minako as her long, elegant fingers curled lightly under her mask. As if on the count of three, all four girls pulled their masks off, taking with them their... hair?

In the place of Minako stood a petite pixie, grinning as she tousled her short, blue hair. The real Minako had been disguised as Makoto, who had been disguised as Rei, who was disguised as Ami.

Zoicite wasn't sure if he'd ever get over his shock. He'd danced with all four, and hadn't guessed a thing, except when Ami alluded to the fact that she wasn't Minako.

And speaking of Ami...

She was laughing at something Rei had said, her twinkling voice undisguised as it floated over to him.

He smiled as he disappeared into the garden, only seconds before midnight. She was definately one to study.

Who knew what other sorts of talents she hid?

**Review? Pretty please? **


End file.
